Saturday, August 4, 2012

History of The Statue of Liberty

The
Statue of Liberty National Monument officially celebrated her 100th
birthday on October 28, 1986. The people of France gave the Statue to
the people of the United States over one hundred years ago in
recognition of the friendship established during the American
Revolution. Over the years, the Statue of Liberty's symbolism has grown
to include freedom and democracy as well as this international
friendship.

Sculptor
Frederic Auguste Bartholdi was commissioned to design a sculpture with
the year 1876 in mind for completion, to commemorate the centennial of
the American Declaration of Independence. The Statue was a joint effort
between America and France and it was agreed upon that the American
people were to build the pedestal, and the French people were
responsible for the Statue and its assembly here in the United States.
However, lack of funds was a problem on both sides of the Atlantic
Ocean. In France, public fees, various forms of entertainment, and a
lottery were among the methods used to raise funds. In the United
States, benefit theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions and prize
fights assisted in providing needed funds.

Meanwhile
in France, Bartholdi required the assistance of an engineer to address
structural issues associated with designing such a colossal copper
sculpture. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (designer of the Eiffel Tower) was
commissioned to design the massive iron pylon and secondary skeletal
framework which allows the Statue's copper skin to move independently
yet stand upright. Back in America, fund raising for the pedestal was
going particularly slowly, so Joseph Pulitzer (noted for the Pulitzer
Prize) opened up the editorial pages of his newspaper, "The World" to
support the fund raising effort. Pulitzer used his newspaper to
criticize both the rich who had failed to finance the pedestal
construction and the middle class who were content to rely upon the
wealthy to provide the funds. Pulitzer's campaign of harsh criticism was
successful in motivating the people of America to donate.

Financing
for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, and pedestal
construction was finished in April of 1886. The Statue was completed in
France in July, 1884 and arrived in New York Harbor in June of 1885 on
board the French frigate "Isere" which transported the Statue of Liberty
from France to the United States. In transit, the Statue was reduced to
350 individual pieces and packed in 214 crates. The Statue was
re-assembled on her new pedestal in four months time. On October 28th
1886, the dedication of the Statue of Liberty took place in front of
thousands of spectators. She was a centennial gift ten years late.

The
story of the Statue of Liberty and her island has been one of change.
The Statue was placed upon a granite pedestal inside the courtyard of
the star-shaped walls of Fort Wood (which had been completed for the War
of 1812.) The United States Lighthouse Board had responsibility for the
operation of the Statue of Liberty until 1901. After 1901, the care and
operation of the Statue was placed under the War Department. A
Presidential Proclamation declared Fort Wood (and the Statue of Liberty
within it) a National Monument on October 15th, 1924 and the monument's
boundary was set at the outer edge of Fort Wood.

In 1933, the care and
administration of the National Monument was transferred to the National
Park Service. On September 7, 1937, jurisdiction was enlarged to
encompass all of Bedloe's Island and in 1956, the island's name was
changed to Liberty Island. On May 11, 1965, Ellis Island was also
transferred to the National Park Service and became part of the Statue
of Liberty National Monument. In May of 1982, President Ronald Reagan
appointed Lee Iacocca to head up a private sector effort to restore the
Statue of Liberty.

Fundraising began for the $87 million restoration
under a public/private partnership between the National Park Service and
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc., to date the most
successful public-private partnership in American history. In 1984, at
the start of the Statue's restoration, the United Nations designated the
Statue of Liberty as a World Heritage Site. On July 5, 1986 the newly
restored Statue re-opened to the public during Liberty Weekend, which
celebrated her centennial.